International

The MU International Office is the first point of contact for international students applying for full-degree, Erasmus, Study Abroad, and Summer School programmes, and supports MU students who wish to study abroad.

Biography

My research and teaching focuses on understanding social, cultural and political economic aspects of media and technology. I teach courses on media & society, technology & culture, the internet, digital games, and research methods, especially digitally native research methods.

I am currently researching diversity and inclusion in the digital games industry (via the Network in Play and Refiguring Innovation in Digital Games projects). I am also exploring new forms of digital or virtual work, esp. community managers and data scientists, and interested in the social shaping and impact of datafication, platforms, algorithms and artificial intelligence.

I was a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication in the USA from January-May 2011.

Prior to coming to Maynooth in 2005, I worked as a full time researcher at the Centre for Media Research at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland and at the Society, Technology and Media research centre at Dublin City University in the Republic of Ireland working on a range of projects including public service broadcasting policy, media literacy and digital inclusion .

From 2001-2003 I was a Government of Ireland post-doctoral fellow working on the project Contemporary Digital Media: The Emergence of Digital Games. My PhD examined Ireland in the Global Information Economy: Innovation
and Multimedia Content Industries and was awarded in 2000 by Dublin City University. During my PhD I spent six months as a research assistant at UNU/INTECH in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Research Interests

Cultural and creative industries, media work and production esp. new forms of work, data politics and data markets, the ethics and social implications of 'smart' technologies and AI, transnational audiences/ users of digital media, gender and new media, digital games, governance and regulation of media, cultural diversity and heritage.

Research Projects

Project

Role

Description

Start Date

End Date

ReFig

Co-Investigator

01-JAN-16

31-DEC-17

Post Doctoral Fellows/Research Team

Researcher Name

Project

Role

Funding Body

Rachel O'Dwyer

Spectre of the Commons: A political economy of Radio Regulation in the Communism of Capital

'Reclaiming Public Space: Sound and Mobile Media Use by Teenagers'
O'Keeffe, Linda, Kerr, Aphra (2015) 'Reclaiming Public Space: Sound and Mobile Media Use by Teenagers'. International Journal of Communication, 9 [IR Link] [Details]

2015

'The Recruitment of Passion and Community in the Service of Capital: Community Managers in the Digital Games Industry'
Kerr, Aphra, Kelleher, J D (2015) 'The Recruitment of Passion and Community in the Service of Capital: Community Managers in the Digital Games Industry'. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 32 :177-192 [IR Link] [Details]

'On crimes and punishments in virtual worlds: bots, the failure of punishment and players as moral entrepreneurs'
De Paoli, S;Kerr, A (2012) 'On crimes and punishments in virtual worlds: bots, the failure of punishment and players as moral entrepreneurs'. Ethics and Information Technology, 14 :73-87 [DOI][IR Link] [Details]

2012

'The spatialisation of the digital games industry: lessons from Ireland'
Kerr, A;Cawley, A (2012) 'The spatialisation of the digital games industry: lessons from Ireland'. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 18 :398-418 [DOI][IR Link] [Details]

'The Assemblage of Cheating: How to Study Cheating as Imbroglio in MMORPGs'
De Paoli, Stefano
Kerr, Aphra (2010) 'The Assemblage of Cheating: How to Study Cheating as Imbroglio in MMORPGs'. THE FIBRECULTURE JOURNAL, [IR Link] [Details]

2010

'We Will Always be One Step Ahead of Them. A Case Study on the Economy of Cheating in MMORPGs'
De Paoli, Stefano
Kerr, Aphra (2010) 'We Will Always be One Step Ahead of Them. A Case Study on the Economy of Cheating in MMORPGs'. JOURNAL OF VIRTUAL WORLDS RESEARCH, 2 [IR Link] [Details]

'Live Life to the power of PS2. Locating the Games Industry in the New Media Environment'
Kerr, A. (2003) 'Live Life to the power of PS2. Locating the Games Industry in the New Media Environment'. Irish Communications Review, 9 [Details]

2001

'Digital Media, the Nation State and Local Cultures: The development of multimedia content in Ireland'
Preston, P. & Kerr, A. (2001) 'Digital Media, the Nation State and Local Cultures: The development of multimedia content in Ireland'. MEDIA, CULTURE AND SOCIETY, 23 :109-131 [IR Link] [Details]

2000

'Media Diversity and Cultural Identities. The Development of Multimedia ‘Content’ products in Ireland'
Kerr, Aphra (2000) 'Media Diversity and Cultural Identities. The Development of Multimedia ‘Content’ products in Ireland'. New Media and Society, 3 [IR Link] [Details]

'The Development of Multimedia in Ireland'
Kerr, A.
Preston, P. (1999) 'The Development of Multimedia in Ireland' In: Europe Appropriates Multimedia. A Study of the National Uptake of Multimedia in Eight European Countries and Japan. Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
[Details]

1998

'Teaching Photography – A workshop on Thinking about, and Seeing Photographs'
Kerr, A. (1998) 'Teaching Photography – A workshop on Thinking about, and Seeing Photographs' In: Conference Proceedings from Third European conference on Integrating Information and Communications Technology in the Curriculum. Dublin: Dublin City University.
[Details]

'Space Wars: The Politics of Games Production in Europe'
Kerr, A (2013) 'Space Wars: The Politics of Games Production in Europe' In: Gaming Globally: Production, Play and Place. BASINGSTOKE: PALGRAVE. [IR Link] [Details]

'Player production and innovation in online games - Time for new rules?'
Kerr, Aphra (2011) 'Player production and innovation in online games - Time for new rules?' In: Online Gaming in Context — The social and cultural significance of online games. Oxon: Routledge.
[Details]

'Locating the Digital Games Industry in the New Media Environment'
Kerr, A. (2007) 'Locating the Digital Games Industry in the New Media Environment' In: The Gaming Industry - An Introduction. Hyderabad, India: Icfai Books.
[Details]

'Girls Just Want to Have Fun!'
Kerr, A. (2004) 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun!' In: Strategies of Inclusion: Gender in the Information Society. Vol III: Surveys of Women’s User Experience. Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
[Details]

2003

'Girls/Women Just Want to Have Fun: A Study of Adult Female Players of Digital Games'
Kerr, A. (2003) 'Girls/Women Just Want to Have Fun: A Study of Adult Female Players of Digital Games' In: Level Up: Proceedings from the first international conference of the International Digital Games Research Association. Utrecht: [IR Link] [Details]

'Representing users in the design of digital games'
Kerr, A. (2002) 'Representing users in the design of digital games' In: Computer Games and Digital Cultures. Finland: University of Tampere. [IR Link] [Details]

2002

'The business of culture. New media industries in Ireland'
Kerr, A. (2002) 'The business of culture. New media industries in Ireland' In: Ireland Unbound. A Turn of the Century Chronicle. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
[Details]

The Economy of Cheating in MMORPGs: A Case Study of Innovation
De Paoli S. and Kerr, A. (2009) The Economy of Cheating in MMORPGs: A Case Study of Innovation 4th Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems[IR Link] [Details]

2009

Rethinking the Role of Users in ICT Design: Reflections For the Internet
Kerr, A, De Paoli, S., Storni, C. (2009) Rethinking the Role of Users in ICT Design: Reflections For the Internet The Good, the Bad and the Challenging. The user and the future of ICTs Slovenia, [Details]

Presented at the Pictilin, Creative Media Conference.
Aphra Kerr and Edward Sugden (2014) Presented at the Pictilin, Creative Media Conference. [Oral Presentation], Discourses Around Video Games within Newsprint Media in the USA and Ireland between 2001 to 2014, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland , 03-NOV-14
[Details]

2014

Presented at the Dynamics Virtual Work: The Transformation of Labour in a Global Digital Economy, Conference.
Aphra Kerr and Dr John Kelleher and Katatrina Vesikko (2014) Presented at the Dynamics Virtual Work: The Transformation of Labour in a Global Digital Economy, Conference. [Oral Presentation], Occupational Implications of Games as a Service: The Invisible Work of Community Managers, University of Hertfordshire , 03-SEP-14 - 05-SEP-14
[Details]

2013

Presented at the Community Communications division of the International Media and Communications Research conference.
Aphra Kerr and Linda O'Keefe (2013) Presented at the Community Communications division of the International Media and Communications Research conference. [Oral Presentation], Mobilising the City? Teenagers and mobile sound technologies in urban city spaces, Dublin Ireland
[Details]

2013

Part of the Strategies and Tactics for Promoting Indie Game Design Panel, Association for Internet Research.
Aphra Kerr (2013) Part of the Strategies and Tactics for Promoting Indie Game Design Panel, Association for Internet Research. [Oral Presentation], Towards Creative Autonomy:Tactics for Survival, Denver, Colorado, USA , 23-OCT-13 - 28-OCT-13
[Details]

2013

Presented at the Communication Technology division of the International Media Communications Research Conference.
Aphra Kerr (2013) Presented at the Communication Technology division of the International Media Communications Research Conference. [Oral Presentation], Governing Games- Economic Technological and Policy Issues, Dublin Ireland
[Details]

Presented at the Game Behind the Video Game. Business, Regulation and Society in the Games Industry.
Aphra Kerr (2011) Presented at the Game Behind the Video Game. Business, Regulation and Society in the Games Industry. [Oral Presentation], Globalisation and Mobile Labour in the Digital Games Industry: Implications for policy, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA , 09-APR-11
[Details]

2011

Presented at A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society;iCS and Oxford Institute.
Aphra Kerr, De.Paoli S. and Keating, M. (2011) Presented at A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society;iCS and Oxford Institute. [Oral Presentation], Human and Non-Human Aspects of Governance and Regulation of MMOGs, Oxford University UK , 21-SEP-11 - 21-SEP-11
[Details]

2011

Presented at the Political Economy section of the IAMCR.
Aphra Kerr (2011) Presented at the Political Economy section of the IAMCR. [Oral Presentation], Spatialisation and Mobile Labour in the Digital Games industry, Istanbul, Turkey , 15-JUL-11
[Details]

Paper accepted for presentation at 'Users as innov.
(2009) Paper accepted for presentation at 'Users as innov. [Oral Presentation], Rethinking the Role of Users in ICT Design: Reflec, Copenhagen
[Details]

2009

Game Focus Germany, professional games industry co.
(2009) Game Focus Germany, professional games industry co. [Oral Presentation], Considering Cultural Diversity in Game Development, Hannover, Germany
[Details]

Presented at the Breaking New Ground: Innovation i.
(2009) Presented at the Breaking New Ground: Innovation i. [Oral Presentation], The Cheating Assemblage in MMORPGs: Toward a socio, Brunel, London
[Details]

The Use of Communication Technologies and the Potential Adoption of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) in the Irish Media and Information Industries.
Dr Aphra Kerr (1995) The Use of Communication Technologies and the Potential Adoption of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) in the Irish Media and Information Industries. Thesis [Details]

Technical Publication

Year

Publication

2009

The Games industry in Ireland 2009.
Kerr, A. and Cawley, A. (2009) The Games industry in Ireland 2009. Technical Publication [IR Link] [Details]

The sociology of trusted systems: the episteme and judgment of a technology.
De Paoli, S., Kerr, A. and Storni, C. (2009) The sociology of trusted systems: the episteme and judgment of a technology. Working Paper [IR Link] [Details]

Girls/Women Just Want to Have Fun.
Dr Aphra Kerr (2003) Girls/Women Just Want to Have Fun. Working Paper [Details]

2002

Loading…Please Wait. Ireland and the Global Games Industry.
Dr Aphra Kerr (2002) Loading…Please Wait. Ireland and the Global Games Industry. Working Paper [Details]

1997

The Social Shaping of Multimedia in Ireland. Actors, Networks and Relationships.
Preston, P and Kerr, A (1997) The Social Shaping of Multimedia in Ireland. Actors, Networks and Relationships. Working Paper [Details]

1996

The Evolution of Science and Technology Policies in Ireland, 1963-1995. Issues and Responses.
Kerr, A. (1996) The Evolution of Science and Technology Policies in Ireland, 1963-1995. Issues and Responses. Working Paper [Details]

1994

The Use and Adoption of ISDN and other Communication Technologies in the Irish Media and Cultural Industries.
Preston, P and Kerr, A. (1994) The Use and Adoption of ISDN and other Communication Technologies in the Irish Media and Cultural Industries. Working Paper [Details]